They claim grain is safe (it’s not) and have neglected to mention the connection of processed inferior ingredients to heart disease in dogs. Why is that?
Dr. Lisa Freeman – a veterinary nutritionist professor from Tufts University – has been very outspoken about grain free dog food’s link to dilated cardiomyopathy. She’s told everyone from the New York Times to readers of the Tufts vet school blog that “boutique grain-free” dog foods were responsible for the dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) cases.
Unless Dr. Freeman considers Royal Canin, Purina and Diamond to be boutique pet foods – she’s wrong on her assessment of the problem. The truth is many different brands, mostly from medium to large manufacturers are linked to low taurine levels and the DCM diagnosis in dogs. Why would a veterinary professor attempt to sway pet owners away from small pet food brands?
Hold that thought.
In another statement, Dr. Lisa Freeman told the New York Times:
“Grains have not been linked to any health problems except in the very rare situation when a pet has an allergy to a specific grain.”
This one is simply unforgivable. Grains most certainly have been linked to serious health problems over many decades – the risk is mycotoxins. Mycotoxins – even at low levels – pose a serious risk to pets. Further, mycotoxins are an on-going problem. Earlier this year Biomin.net published the the 2018 Global Mycotoxin Threat stating grains in North American tested as “Extreme Risk“. Where do you think those ‘extreme risk’ grains end up? Hint: it’s not human food.
Telling pet owners to switch to a grain based pet food is just switching out one problem for another. So again, why would this veterinarian try to direct pet owners away from small pet food brands towards grain based pet foods when grains are a certain mycotoxin risk?
Again…hold that thought…there’s more…
Poor Digestibility of Ingredients
In 2003, the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine published “Taurine status in normal dogs fed a commercial diet associated with taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy”. This study found that processing and “poor digestibility” of ingredients played a role in canine heart disease. Why hasn’t any veterinary nutritionist investigating the DCM cases today discussed the risk of processing and inferior ingredient link to canine heart disease?
Perhaps it is because no veterinary nutritionist wants to talk about law being violated in pet food. Even though it is a direct violation of US Federal Law, pet food is allowed by FDA to contain ingredients sourced from “diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter”. Isn’t it common sense that sick, decomposing dead animals would provide inferior nutrition in pet foods? Add numerous processing stages to these inferior ingredients – is it any wonder the necessary amino acids are destroyed?
There is one more significant issue…
Endotoxins and Heart Disease
Briefly mentioned in the New York Times article was a clue to a completely different group of DCM diagnosed dogs; “But taurine levels in other affected dogs, including mixed breeds, are normal, which puzzles researchers.” In other words, some sick dogs have low taurine levels linked to DCM – but other dogs diagnosed with nutrition related DCM have normal taurine levels. Why are these dogs with normal taurine sick with heart disease? It might be endotoxins.
Endotoxins are ‘toxins’ that are released on bacterial death. Gram-negative bacteria such as Salmonella and or E. coli killed through cooking or processing of pet food ingredients ‘get even’ with their killers – they release a toxin that can be more dangerous to dogs and cats than the live bacteria.
Waste pet food ingredients such as “diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter” are certainly sources of massive levels of Salmonella an other gram-negative bacteria. When cooked/processed into pet food ingredients – they become sources of massive levels of endotoxins.
From “Endotoxin Effects on Cardiac and Renal Functions and Cardiorenal Syndromes” –
“Endotoxin plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of multi-organ dysfunction in the setting of gram-negative sepsis. Indeed, heart and kidney impairments seem to be induced by the release of circulating pro-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic mediators triggered by endotoxin interaction with immune cells.”
“Bacterial endotoxin, long recognized as a potent pro-inflammatory mediator in acute infectious processes, has more recently been identified as a risk factor for atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular diseases.”
In 2016, myself and an educated pet owner whose dog died from endotoxemia had a meeting with FDA. For more than an hour scientific evidence was submitted to FDA regarding the dangers to pets of endotoxin levels in pet food. FDA openly dismissed the risk. (To learn more about the risk of endotoxins in pet foods, Click Here.) Will FDA admit the link of heart disease to endotoxins in the pet foods? Doubtful.
Why are veterinarian nutritionists telling pet owners false information?
Why is no scientist, veterinarian, or FDA representative discussing the multiple links between inferior ingredients and high processing of ingredients to canine heart disease?
The blinders need to come off – a biased investigation does not benefit pets. Will investigators intentionally ignore issues as not in the best interest of industry? And how many more dogs will die because of what they ignored?
It’s a concern.
Update to original post. Dr. Michael W. Fox sent the following statement adding several good points:
“I would urge Dr. Lisa Freeman – a veterinary nutritionist professor from Tufts University, to reflect on the instances of dogs with seizures and inflammatory bowel, skin, ear and anal gland problems who return to good health when their diets no longer contain corn, cereal glutens and byproducts, and soy, many being GMO and contaminated with glyphosate among other agrichemicals and aflaxoxins.
Glyphosate blocks manganese uptake, a nutrient essential for many organ functions.” See: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274005953_Glyphosate_pathways_to_modern_diseases_III_Manganese_neurological_diseases_and_associated_pathologies
And “Aug 13, 2018 – Rachel Ray’s Dog Food, Nutrish, is marketed as being free of “[No] artificial flavors or artificial preservatives” and being a “Natural food for dogs” …
The current epidemic of DCM in dogs may have a multi-factor, pluricausal origin, genetics not withstanding. Lectins in GMO potatoes and in conventional pulses/legumes, when not properly processed are of concern. They may also play a role in the genesis of kidney failure especially when put in manufactured cat foods since cats are obligate carnivores, and in the development of autoimmune diseases.”(Editorials. Do dietary lectins cause disease? BMJ 1999;318:1023-1024 ( 17 April ).
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
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Audree
September 11, 2018 at 10:56 am
Awesome article, Susan! Thanks for much for exposing Lisa Freeman’s mis-information! She also states in the same article that pet parents should stop reading the ingredients! And i was send a link to her article by a rehab vet who I really respect. She’s a one-person wrecking machine.
Tracy
September 11, 2018 at 12:15 pm
This is crazy. I jumped on the grain free.bandwagon quite awhile back. Thats all my shih-tzu ate for 6 years. Now when this latest news came out, what did I do-immediately, went out and got food that was not grain free.I’m so confused. I guess I need to just start making his food at home.
Hope
September 11, 2018 at 12:31 pm
Lisa is a front for Royal Canin and the other big pet feed companies who are using consumer fear to attempt to drive sales back to crap pet food. This along with the class action lawsuits in process using their other front of Clean Label Project just makes life so much more complex for pet owners nowadays. I feel so bad for consumers who love their dogs.
Zac Chernik
September 11, 2018 at 12:58 pm
Hi Hope,
Please response to me privately regarding the class action lawsuit. zchernik@4gci.com
Ira
September 12, 2018 at 11:34 am
So is that who is behind the class action lawsuits? I would love to hear more details on this.
Sandra Z Zellick, Ph.D.
September 11, 2018 at 12:38 pm
Good article, Susan. So sad that respectable sources are encouraging pet owners to go back to grain foods. This has to be about dollars.
Penny
September 11, 2018 at 1:30 pm
I was briefly in a Facebook group about this and left when the advice was repeatedly “feed your pets a food with a long proven track record of good results, Purina, Royal Canin, Science Diet”. Then just last week my cat fell ill and she was on an expensive grain free diet and I mentioned that to my vet and got the same quote almost word for word. It’s hard to know what to do anymore. After looking at the food I was feeding, it’s mostly peas!! Cats don’t eat peas. They did seem to swap one problem for another.
Dawn
October 10, 2018 at 10:46 pm
You’re right. Cats don’t eat peas! They’re the new fad in pet food. In human food also. Now there is powdered pea protein for sale everywhere. For goodness sake, just eat some peas!
Andy
November 27, 2018 at 4:21 pm
@Penny, I hope your cat is ok, but to immediately blame the food is jumping to conclusions and speculative. There could be many reasons your cat got sick. However, cats are obligate carnivores. They don’t need to have any plant products. Having said that, their food does need to have some supplements, because what ever you buy, no matter how high quality, it does not have all the nutrients in it that a cat would get from a freshly killed animal. Some of the companies use whole foods from plants instead of artificial supplements to get those lost nutrients. The best thing to feed your cat is a balanced raw food diet. 2nd best is a canned food without any unnecessary starchy foods like peas. Kibble, which needs some starchy food to bind it together, is the bottom of the totem pole food-wise (same for dogs), but we feed it to our pets because a) it’s convenient, b) it’s less expensive than raw or cans, c) marketing in the last 40 years have convinced us that kibble is what we should feed them. Would you take everything you ate for Thanksgiving, put it in a blender, cook it until it’s all dried out chunks and want to eat it?
Cindy
September 11, 2018 at 1:30 pm
Very good article, explains it all well. There is also the glyphosate factor in any foods with legumes or grains, what is that causing? Legumes and grains will be dessicated before harvest (sprayed with Roundup/carcinogen), which will be just one more thing that could cause a wide variety of health problems in addition to the problems already caused by grains or legumes.
Karen
September 11, 2018 at 2:30 pm
Does this apply to dog food only or cats as well? I have been feeding Costco’s Kirkland Signature “Maintenance” for a while now. My opinion, it is excellent food for the price. It contains rice, but they do make a grain-free. They make a grain free for dogs too.
Lori
September 11, 2018 at 3:24 pm
I had a toy poodle who I had on grain food for about 5 years he was having issues with diarrhea so his vet told to switch to no grain and no chicken, I did and he did wonderful, u see if u think about most cows, chicken , live stock are fed grain , corn and such , so organically fed animals are best for use in dog and cat food , they need to go back to feeding animals the basics. Healthy in it for all …
Jane Democracy
September 12, 2018 at 1:23 am
Organically fed cows and grass fed cows are 2 different things. Organically fed cows can be fed both grain and corn and grass fed cows are not necessarily organic.
Gary
September 11, 2018 at 4:37 pm
I would urge Dr. Fox to publish the results of his clinical findings. In a respected journal. The industry needs this information.
Jessica
September 11, 2018 at 7:17 pm
Most of these small and “natural/holistic” pet food companies don’t test their food at all and don’t have a full-time veterinary nutritionist on staff.
I learned the hard way when one of my dogs died of taurine deficient DCM thanks to the grain free boutique brand Acana.
Never again.
I did a taurine test on my other dog and he also tested low in taurine, but now I switched him to Royal Canin and slowly he’s doing better everyday.
My vet also prescribed meds for his heart.
Susan Thixton
September 11, 2018 at 7:36 pm
I’m so sorry your dog died. I’m sure you are heart broken. Just as FYI – many small companies test their pet foods, and many are beyond brilliant at formulating their products. Not all veterinary nutritionists are working in the best interest of pets – if they were, it would be them speaking out against illegal waste ingredients allowed by FDA instead of consumers. Please don’t believe the hype some of the veterinary nutritionists are spouting. As discussed above, some are outright lying to consumers.
Jessica
September 11, 2018 at 11:43 pm
My dog that died from taurine deficient DCM was only 4 years old.
I thought I was feeding him and his brother the best dog food (Acana).
I’d rather trust the advice from my veterinarian and a dog food that is thoroughly tested (Royal Canin) by veterinary nutritionists.
My remaining dog is still alive thanks to those two things.
Susan Thixton
September 12, 2018 at 8:45 am
I understand. You have to go with a food that you trust.
Dawn
October 11, 2018 at 12:18 am
In March 2017, my cat Icky was diagnosed with a grade 3 (out of 5) her heart murmur. That’s quite a significant murmur. Cardiac ultrasound confirmed DCM. My vet (who also was my boss) said he not yet a candidate for medication. But being that I have been a vet tech for about 23 years, I know the road of cardiac meds and it’s not one that I was looking forward to. So I hit the books (and the Internet) & started doing my research. I read that in the cooking process, taurine can become bio-unavailable to some cats. It just passes through the digestive tract, not utilized at all. Now I had also done a taurine level on my cat. And it came back normal. But maybe, like magnesium, when blood levels are measured, it can come back as normal. What doesn’t show is that the body is deficient on a cellular level because the body takes what it needs from the cells to keep the circulating blood levels normal. So I read about raw diet, chicken hearts, CoQ10, and a plethora of other nutritional based treatments to help with this situation. I started my cat(s) on a raw chicken diet which I make myself. Vetri Science Cardio Support and Standard Process Feline Cardiac Support supplement. Guess what?? The murmur is 100% resolved. Gone. Non-detectable. I just supplement with raw diet, my cats also free feed on dry (I know, I know. In an ideal world, my cats would live on 100% raw but neither I nor they live in an ideal world at the moment). They are eating grain free Wyssong Uretic. they have all been on grain free for years. As my dogs have been. I question the grain free debate that’s been recently raised. Since when are grains biologically appropriate? And as far as the cardiac prescription diets are concerned, I just don’t agree with this. I prefer to approach it from the angle that I did. If it stops working, I will cross that bridge if I ever get to it. As Susan said, it’s all about comfort level. I just wanted to share my experience with you. Good luck. And keep your pup well!!
Angela
May 2, 2019 at 5:06 am
thank you for your story becasue i have been at a loss what to feed my cats..i have had two to pass away of heart issues..i had been feeding a good brand of grain free wet cat food from canidae chicken grain free.but now i am feeding natures variety instinct limited ingredient turkey..but it has pea and pea protein in it..dont know if this is good or not..but really dont have the time to make a homemade food but is there something else..but also have added a supplement of taurine powder to there food..for extra taurine..can you suggest a good quality food for my cats..thanks so much
Cindy
September 12, 2019 at 5:09 pm
Good point about the cellular level . . . that is why a blood test is never completely accurate as it only tells you what is in the blood and not what is happening at the cellular level. Sometimes things can actually be high in the blood because they are not getting into the cells and therefore, building up in the blood, so that can give you a false impression of exactly what is happening. All a person needs to do as far as prescription diets go is read the ingredients, they tell the tale . . . for example why would a GI diet have carageenan in it when that causes intestinal inflammation and then beet pulp is added so that the dog doesn’t have diarrhea from the carageenan and other ingredients in the food . . . common sense will tell you if you read the ingredients and the ingredient definitions . . . of course I could go on and on with other ingredients like corn gluten meal (not from the food industry but from the bio-diesel industry) etc.
Concerned Vet
September 11, 2019 at 8:41 pm
Late to the discussion but found your page and think it’s worth leaving a comment for consideration. Many chickpeas and lentils grown in North America are laced with glyphosate (Roundup) as a contaminant of the growing process. Tony Mitra is relentless with his work and worth listening to/reading/following:
https://www.tonu.org/2017/06/15/glyphosate-in-chickpea-lentil-and-wheat-bran/
I don’t suspect makers of grain free diets are testing foods for glyphosate residues. Also, some pet foods contain potato starch and potatoes are one of the most contaminated vegetables on the planet unless organic and even then….(think other pesticides, not necessarily just glyphosate). When counselling my clients, I suggest using the Environmental Working Group site and avoid the Dirty Dozen list of foods (which changes yearly). I also counsel them on avoiding lentils, chickpeas and other items that could be highly contaminated with glyphosate if they can. Considering that our pets are smaller than us humans, smaller doses of these toxins could be relatively more toxic to them over a shorter period of time (their lifetimes, or even less). It is heart-breaking to hear that pets are suffering, despite our good intentions. Keep up your good work.
Andy
September 12, 2019 at 6:49 pm
@ Concerned Vet, that’s good information to know about the pesticides and herbicides used on certain vegetables. One thing I want to point out, is when you say that you don’t think makers of grain free diets are testing foods for glyphosate residues: a) that includes most of the manufacturers out there as many of them have a grain free line, and b) I suspect most kibble manufacturers don’t test for glyphosate regardless of whether it’s a grain free food or not. Corn is one of the most common ingredients used by the multi-nationals corporations making pet food (Nestle/Purina; Proctor+Gamble/Science Diet/Hills; Mars/Royal Canin) and corn is heavily sprayed with pesticides and herbicides, as well as a number of other feed grains that are used in mass marketed pet food.
Cynthia J
September 11, 2018 at 10:19 pm
I wasn’t aware that DCM in dogs had reached epidemic proportions? Especially in those breeds that are not genetically predisposed. I guess I haven’t been following all of this closely enough. And of course I have been feeding my dogs grain free their entire lives. Smh
Enid
September 11, 2018 at 11:50 pm
In the 30+ years I’ve had Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers, none have ever died from heart related issues. All my retrievers, some living 15 years, have died from cancer. My concern is the carbohydrate level and quality of protein and other ingredients in the foods I choose. So, the thought of feeding my current Golden and Lab a food loaded with carbs and questionable protein sources is not even an option.
Jamie Legere
September 12, 2018 at 1:15 am
I’m still confused. I read about the grain free diet causing heart problems, and poured over Thixton’s best dog food lists trying to find an acceptable brand WITH grain. I bought it, but he hasn’t eaten it yet.Previously, I fed my dog Blue Buffalo Grain Free.
What about switching types between bags? (Grain free for one bag, with grain for the next?)
Is it safer to feed your dog food on Thixton’s list WITH grain, or WITHOUT grain?
Susan Thixton
September 12, 2018 at 8:44 am
Unfortunately, no one knows the answer to your questions – at least not yet. There is a lot of people looking into it – and hopefully soon we’ll have an answer.
Salomea
September 12, 2018 at 7:43 am
I switched to grain free in 2003 and over the years my critters have consistently preferred it over more traditional options when given a choice.
I’m feeding them Earthborn venture but when I saw the Taurine stuff on the news I added a multivitamin to their diet until I can figure out how verify the integrity of their feed.
Carrie Waters
September 13, 2018 at 9:39 am
As a consumer who also wants nothing but the best for our pets, this whole issue has really been a challenge to deal with. Since my sweet border collie was diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in 2012, I have fed my dogs nothing but high quality grain-free food. They’ve all done excellent on it and so far no health issues either. I joined a couple of canine “nutrition” and “holistic” groups on Facebook when the DCM/taurine issue arose, and that has made it even more difficult. Those of us that still choose to feed grain-free are shamed by those that don’t. I even had one person asked me “why are you feeding grain free? Dogs need grains too.” And there are the arguments from people who say that Royal Canin food is the way to go because it’s “backed by science” and has been tested for eons of years. I am no expert, but I know that dogs do NOT NEED corn and wheat in their diets!! There is no dog food, aside from some of the freeze-dried and dehydrated raw brands that does not have either some type of potato, legume or grain in it. Unfortunately I just cant afford to feed two 50lb dogs raw and I don’t have the time to cook food for them either, which doesn’t mean that I don’t want what’s best for them. I am currently feeding them Nulo Freestyle Adult Fit & Trim and have added some freeze-dried raw to their diets and also give them small amounts of veggies. I realize that research is still being done on this issue and I am not going back to grains until someone who has done the research can tell me for absolute certain that a grain-filled food is better for my dogs than grain-free. Even then I may have a difficult time believing it.
JoAnna
September 13, 2018 at 1:46 pm
I’ve been in the independent retail pet industry a while now, almost ten years, and I’ve been lucky enough to reviver manufacturers training from all the pet food greats, from Stella and chewys to primal, orijen, open farm and ziwi peak.
If you’re genuinely worried about taurine deficient DCM, the solution is simple: ADD MORE FRESH REAL MEAT TO YOUR PETS DIET!!! Taurine comes from meat – not kibble that has been obliterated and cooked at high pressures and high temperatures. Grain free (in my opinion) is fine, just make sure that the top 5 ingredients are an actual meat, and don’t contain too many starchy pluses. And always rotate proteins, textures, and even brands!! ((And don’t forget to SLOWLY TRANSITION FOODS over a course of 7-10 days! Duh))
✌️ Love this blog, Susan. You’re quite literally my hero.
Janice
September 13, 2018 at 5:15 pm
I agree about adding real meat to your pet’s diet. And don’t forget fish, which is high in taurine and also in methionine and cystine, from which dogs make taurine (unless they have a special problem and for some reason cannot do this.
Janice
September 14, 2018 at 11:42 am
I should have mentioned that the fish should be cooked. You can research which are lowest in mercury and choose those.
Mina
September 18, 2018 at 3:58 am
Canned Sardines in spring water with no added salt. Low mercury. Small fish. Big benefits.
Karen
September 14, 2018 at 8:07 am
My cats love raw hamburger, I give it to them as a treat, so that can be an easy way to supplement the diet too. For whatever it’s worth, they like the fattier hamburger. If I buy the 92% meat/fat, they nibble; I buy the 85% and they scarf it.
Ripley
September 16, 2018 at 10:44 pm
I too work in pet retail and I must say— I love the way you have worded this!
So many people have come to our store now wanting to feed grain-based diets to dogs who suffer from food allergies… all because their vets have scared them into eating foods that will, and eventually do, trigger their food allergies. I have even heard customers say their vets have told them that allergies to grains are less common than allergies to proteins… ugh.
It’s frustrating and disheartening to see the veterinary community reject what is common sense— feed more real meat! Rotate foods, flavors, and brands frequently! Add fermented fish stock or goats milk! God forbid— even try raw! Supplement with kelp, mushrooms, or green lipped sea mussels! All such simple solutions to a problem that they have made overly complicated to the average consumer.
Andy
November 27, 2018 at 4:33 pm
Touché!
Best foods for you pet a) Raw, b) Freeze dried/Dehydrated based on raw foods, c) Canned, D) lastly, Kibble. If feeding raw, just make sure your pet is getting the proper supplements it needs. An only meat diet will not serve your pet well for the long run. Even cats which are obligate carnivores need some supplements in their food.
Raven
October 31, 2018 at 9:31 am
My Coco had heart problems and I was fortunate enough to have an educated heart specialist and an internist -specialists- that did not encourage me to feed Big Pet Food Companies. After Feeding her with the nutritional criteria he gave me including minerals and sodium limits (notate that proper sodium intake can contribute to heart and kidneys and can be very high in kibble) Coco thrived and her heart improved. Honest Kitchen turned her around.
Please do not believe they hype of the new grain free is bad – probably sponsored by big pet food. Feed your pet healthy and watch their intake of nutrients. Pets- all pets should not consume high doses of sodium which will hurt organs as well as lack of or low quality vitamins in food.
That is key in heart and as a matter of fact kidneys. Big Pet is trying to strike again by confusing owners.